Beginner Gardening Questions: Rooting Problems with Hens and Chickens

Twice now I have attempted to grow Hens and Chicks from pieces of plants given to me by friends. Every time they end up dying. I am trying to figure out what I am doing wrong. I am not over-watering and my attempts are done during the summer when plants can be outside in the sun. I have the plants in a clay pot with good drainage. I keep the soil mostly dry with just a little moisture from the rain. Can anyone help?

I've managed to root succulents by keeping the soil lightly moist, but just barely. I have a pup form an unidentified(I'll refer to the identification forum for that)Succulent that had no roots when I cut it off. After tossing it into a cactus soil mix, it rooted very easily. I would give that a shot,since the any roots trying to grow will dry up in the soil. Just be sure to keep the soil moist, but not dry or soaked.
Best of luck!
-Bloomfly

Try mixing some sand with potting soil in the container for the chicks and hens and they will do well , I just made this container one week ago and they are outside on my picnic table , I just watered it when I put them in the container .

Mine grow in pot's as were too cool here in winter, the way I do it is almost by neglect, I mix some shop compost for seeds or bulbs, both are different I know but I then add some sand, AND a handful of small grit OR gravel, not larger particles though.
Mix this all together and sit in the pot, Take some of the gravel and lay this on the surface of the soil and then water, leave to allow the pot to drain.
Next use a pencil or something like that, a small dibber is fine, make a small hole into the soil wriggle the pencil about to gently push the small gravel away from the hole edges, pop the little pup / plantlet into this and gently use pencil to close the soil AND bring the small gravel up under the pup, the gravel keeps the flesh dry and from sitting into the dampened or wet soil, and believe me, they have roots growing within a few weeks.
Don't wet the greenery as it rots the little plants, I normally get maybe 5-6 of these little pups per pot, a shallow pot is better than a tall one as the shallow ones require less depth of soil,
therefore the soil will drain faster too. I only water when the little plants look like they are becoming limp.
Give this a try and see how you get on, even when a few pups fall out from an over crowded pot, I stick them back on top of the small gravel and they find there own way to the soil as the gravel is not deep.
Hope this helps you out.
best Regards.
WeeNel.